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Richard Matheson Biography (1926-)

Full name, Richard Burton Matheson; born February 20, 1926, in Allendale, NJ;son of Bertolf (a tile floor installer) and Fanny (maiden name, Mathieson) Matheson; married Ruth Ann Woodson, July 1, 1952; children: Richard Christian(a writer, actor, and producer), Alison, Christian (a writer, actor, producer, and director), Bettina. Addresses: Office: P.O. Box 81, Woodland Hills, CA 91365.; Agent: David Greenblatt, International Creative Management, 8942 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211-1934.

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Occupation

Writer

Birth Details

February 20, 1926

Allendale, New Jersey, United States

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Film Appearances
• Astonished man, Somewhere in Time, Universal, 1980
• Film Work
• Associate producer, The Comedy of Terrors (also known as The Graveside Story), American International Pictures, 1964
• Television Appearances
• President Garfield, Captains and the Kings (miniseries), 1976
• The Horror Hall of Fame II (special), 1991
• Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval (special), PBS, 1995
• Television Work
• Associate producer, The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver (movie),NBC, 1977
• WRITINGS
• Screenplays
• Ransom, 1955
• The Incredible Shrinking Man (adapted from his novel The Shrinking Man), Universal, 1957
• (With Louis Metzer) The Beat Generation (also known as This Rebel Age), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1959
• House of Usher (also known as The Fall of the House of Usher; adapted from the novel by Edgar Allan Poe), American International Pictures, 1960
• Master of the World (adapted from Jules Verne's novels Master of the World and Robur, the Conqueror), American InternationalPictures, 1961
• The Pit and the Pendulum (adapted from the story by Poe), AmericanInternational Pictures, 1961
• Tales of Terror (also known as Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Terror and Poe's Tales of Terror; adapted from Poe's stories "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar," "Morella," "The Black Cat," and "The Cask of Amontillado"), American International Pictures, 1962
• (With Charles Beaumont and George Bax) Burn, Witch, Burn (also known as Night of the Eagle; adapted from Fritz Lieber's novel Conjure Wife), American International Pictures, 1962
• The Raven (adapted from the poem by Poe), American International Pictures, 1963
• The Comedy of Terrors (also known as The Graveside Story),American International Pictures, 1964
• (As Logan Swanson, with William P. Leicester) The Last Man on Earth (also known as Naked Terror, The Night Creatures, Night People, Wind of Death, L'Ultimo Uomo della Terra, and Vento di Morte; adapted from his novel I Am Legend), American International Pictures, 1964
• Die! Die! My Darling! (also known as Fanatic; adapted fromAnne Blaisdell's novel Nightmare), Columbia, 1965
• The Young Warriors (also known as Eagle Warriors; adapted from his novel The Beardless Warriors), Universal, 1968
• The Devil's Bride (also known as The Devil Rides Out; adapted from the novel by Dennis Wheatley), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1968
• De Sade (also known as Das Ausschweifende Leben des Marquis deSade and Die Liebesabenteuer des Marquis S), American International Pictures, 1969
• The Legend of Hell House (adapted from his novel Hell House), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1973
• Somewhere in Time (adapted from his novel Bid Time Return),Universal, 1980
• "Kick the Can" (as Josh Rogan, with George Clayton Johnson and Melissa Mathison), "It's a Good Life," and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (adapted fromhis story of the same name), Twilight Zone--The Movie, Warner Bros.,1983
• (With Carl Gottlieb) Jaws 3-D (also known as Jaws 3), Universal, 1983
• (With son Richard Christian Matheson) Loose Cannons, TriStar, 1990
• Television Movies
• Duel (adapted from Matheson's story of the same name), ABC, 1971
• The Night Stalker (adapted from Jeff Price's story "The Kolchak Papers"), ABC, 1972
• Ghost Story, NBC, 1972
• The Night Strangler, ABC, 1973
• Dying Room Only (adapted from a story by Matheson), ABC, 1973
• The Morning After, ABC, 1974
• Scream of the Wolf, ABC, 1974
• Dracula, CBS, 1974
• The Stranger Within (also known as Trespass; adapted from astory by Matheson), ABC, 1974
• "Amelia" (adapted from Matheson's story "Prey"), in Trilogy of Terror, ABC, 1975
• Dead of Night, NBC, 1977
• The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver, NBC, 1977
• The Dreamer of Oz (also known as The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story; adapted from a story by Matheson), CBS, 1990
• "The Theater" in Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics, Sci-Fi Channel, 1994
• "Bobby" in Trilogy of Terror II, USA Network, 1996
• Television Episodes
• "The Last Flight," The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1960
• "A World of His Own," The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1960
• "Nick of Time," The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1960
• "The Invaders," The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1961
• "Once Upon a Time," The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1961
• "The Return of Andrew Bentley," Thriller, NBC, 1962
• "Little Girl Lost," The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1962
• "Young Man's Fancy," The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1962
• "Mute," The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1962
• "Death Ship," The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1962
• "Steel," The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1962
• "Night Call," The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1964
• "Spur of the Moment," The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1964
• "The Enemy Within," Star Trek, NBC, 1966
• The Outer Limits (episode adapted from his story "The First Anniversary"), Showtime and syndicated, 1995
• Also wrote scripts for episodes of The Girl from U.N.C.L.E, NBC; Have Gun Will Travel, CBS; Wanted: Dead or Alive, CBS; The Night Gallery, NBC; and Chrysler Playhouse.
• Television Series
• Lawman, ABC, between 1958-1962
• The Incredible Hulk, 1978
• Enos, 1980
• Knight Rider, 1982
• The Powers of Matthew Star, 1982
• The A-Team, 1983
• Television Miniseries
• The Martian Chronicles, NBC, 1980
• Novels
• Fury on Sunday, Lion Books (New York City), 1953
• Someone Is Bleeding, Lion Books, 1954
• I Am Legend, Fawcett (New York City), 1954 , published as The Omega Man: I Am Legend, Berkley Publishing (New York City), 1971
• The Shrinking Man, Fawcett, 1956
• A Stir of Echoes, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1958
• Ride the Nightmare, Ballantine (New York City), 1959
• The Beardless Warriors, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1960
• Hell House, Viking (New York City), 1971
• Bid Time Return, Viking, 1975 , published as Somewhere in Time, Tor Books (New York City), 1980
• What Dreams May Come, Putnam (New York City), 1978
• Journal of the Gun Years: Being Choice Selections from the Authentic,Never-before-Printed Diary of the Famous Gunfighter-Lawman Clay Halser! WhoseDeeds of Daring Made His Name a By-word of Terror in the Southwest between the Years of1866-1876 , M. Evans (New York City), 1991
• Seven Steps to Midnight, Forge (New York City), 1992
• The Gun Fight, M. Evans, 1993
• Earthbound, Tor Books, 1994
• Shadow on the Sun, M. Evans, 1994
• Hunger and Thirst, Gauntlet Press, 2000
• Passion Play, Cemetery Dance, 2000
• Short Story Collections
• Born of Man and Woman: Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Chamberlain Press, 1954 , abridged edition published as Third from the Sun,Bantam (New York City), 1970
• The Shores of Space, Bantam, 1957
• Shock!: Thirteen Tales to Thrill and Terrify, Dell (New York City), 1961 , published as Shock I, Berkley Publishing, 1979
• Shock II, Dell, 1964
• Shock III, Dell, 1966
• Shock Waves, Dell, 1970
• (Editor and contributor) Twilight Zone: The Original Stories, Avon(New York City), 1985
• Richard Matheson: Collected Stories, 1989
• By the Gun: Six from Richard Matheson, M. Evans, 1993
• Other Writings
• Author of "Afterword," Magic Man and Other Science-Fantasy Stories, Fawcett, 1965
• The Path: Metaphysics for the '90s (nonfiction), Capra Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1993
• Now You See It ..., Tor Books, 1995
• Robert Bloch: Appreciations of the Master, Tor Books, 1995
• The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickok, Jove (New York City), 1995
• Mediums Rare (nonfiction), Cemetery Dance, 2000
• Also author of the play Now You See It. Contributor of stories andpoems to Brooklyn Eagle and to magazines, including Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

Further Reference

ADAPTATIONS

• The novel I Am Legend October 23, 1998, was adapted as Soy Leyenda, released in 1967, and as The Omega Man, released in 1971; the story "Being" was adapted as It's Alive!, released in 1969; Ride the Nightmare was adapted as De la Part des Copains (also known as Cold Sweat, L'Uomo dalle Due Ombre, and De VriendenLaten Groeten), released in 1970; Someone Is Bleeding was adaptedas Les Seins de Glace (also known as Icy Breasts and Icy Flesh), released in 1972; the film The Incredible Shrinking Woman, released in 1981, was based on the novel The Shrinking Man; What Dreams May Come was adapted for film by Ron Bass and released by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment in 1998; A Stir of Echoes, released by Artisan Entertainment in 1999, was adapted by David Koepp from the novel of the same title.

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

• Entertainment Weekly, p. 8.
• Fangoria, December 23, 1989, pp. 14-19; February, 1990, pp. 14-18.
• Starlog, February 23, 1990, pp. 41-45; June, 1994, p. 32; November, 1998.